The LIMITATIONS/Irony Of WORLDLY WISDOM-II—1Corinthians 1:18-25
Attention:
My work at Skidaway Institute of Oceanography—Brilliant minds at work there. Their work was recognized around the globe. Yet it all left me empty. I needed God & for all their wisdom, there was no fulfillment beyond their momentary absorption.
Paul related the irony of worldly wisdom to the Corinthians believers.
True wisdom resides in God’s seeming ‘foolishness’ regarding the cross-work of Christ.
The irony of (prevailing/popular)worldly wisdom is in its being relegated to foolishness.
What is the irony in (prevailing/popular)worldly wisdom?
OR Rather...
How is (prevailing/popular)worldly wisdom limited?
7 ironies of (prevailing/popular)worldly wisdom.
Last time we found that Worldly wisdom is limited by...
1. The CROSS(:18)
2—Worldly wisdom is also limited by...
The SCRIPTURE(:19)
Explanation:(:19)
:19—“For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.””
“For it is written” signifies a reference to the Scriptures either directly or conceptually. This has been determined thru millennia by God’s people of every generation. It is not as if our generation just decided that this particular train of thought(biblical) produced the best form of government or the best citizens. This written word is the culmination of God’s revelation of Himself to mankind. It is has been vouched for & scrutinized & determined by every generation of believers since Moses recorded the first of it by the instruction of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore:
2Tim. 3:14-17—“But you[Timothy] must continue in the things which you have learned & been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, & that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, & is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
“The Bible is not a collection of the wisdom & insights of men, even of godly men. It is God’s truth, His own Word in His own words.”—John MacArthur
Baptist Faith & Message states:
‘The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired & is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, & truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true & trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, & therefore is, & will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, & the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, & religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.’
God Himself will “destroy” the “wisdom” of seemingly “wise” men thru the message of the cross(:18). This was declared to be so, many centuries before per Isa. 29:14; Jer. 8:9.
Isa. 29:14—“Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work Among this people, A marvelous work & a wonder; For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.””
Jer. 8:9—“The wise men are ashamed, They are dismayed & taken. Behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD; So what wisdom do they have?”
‘Prudent’—English definition—‘1.)Wise in handling practical matters; exercising good judgment or common sense; 2.) Careful in regard to one's own interests; provident; 3.) Careful about one's conduct; circumspect.’
Secular “prudence” looks at things with a naturally hindered circumspection. Such ‘circumspection’ is only accomplished within the narrowed & limiting realm of sight rather than in the true & all-encompassing circumspection of faith.
God will “bring to nothing/set aside”(not utilize/bypass) man’s cleverness. The mind of man is so crippled thru a rejection of God in Christ, that such worldly “understanding” will be made—by Christ— utterly futile in its being “brought to nothing.”
The ‘great’ “understanding” of the “prudent” so respected by the world of men, is destined to utter failure due to the fact that it is in actuality “foolishness” apart from God’s power in the Gospel of Christ.
We must interpret the Bible with the Bible
We must also interpret life by the Bible.
“Destroy”(See :18)—apollumi—1) To destroy—1a) To put out of the way entirely, abolish, put an end to ruin, 1b) Render useless, 1c) To kill, 1d) To declare that one must be put to death, 1e) metaph. To devote or give over to eternal misery in hell, 1f) To perish, to be lost, ruined, destroyed; 2) To destroy—2a) To lose. Strong—To destroy fully, reflexively--To perish, or lose), literally or figuratively.
“Wise”(See :20, 25, 26)—sofov—Adj.—1) Wise—1a) Skilled, expert: of artificers, 1b) Wise, skilled in letters, cultivated, learned—1b1) of the Greek philosophers & orators, 1b2) of Jewish theologians, 1b3) of Christian teachers, 1c) Forming the best plans & using the best means for their execution. Strong—wise(in a most general application).
“Understanding/Cleverness”—sunesiv—1) A running together, a flowing together with; 2) Knowledge—2a) Understanding, 2b) The understanding, i.e the mind so far forth as it understands. Critical, apprehending the bearing of things. Strong—A mental putting together, i.e. Intelligence or (concretely) the intellect.
“Prudent/Clever”—sunetov—Adj.—1) Intelligent, having understanding, wise, learned. “Intelligent", denotes one who can put things together, who has insight & comprehension. Strong—Mentally put(or putting) together, i.e. Sagacious. Used 4X.
From—sun—With or together—&—ihmi—To send.
“Bring to nothing/Set aside”—ayetew—1) To do away with, to set aside, disregard; 2) To thwart the efficacy of anything, nullify, make void, frustrate; 3) To reject, to refuse, to slight. Strong—To set aside, i.e. by implication--To disesteem, neutralize or violate.
Argumentation:
Deut 31:9-13—“So Moses wrote this law & delivered it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, & to all the elders of Israel. And Moses commanded them, saying: “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of release, at the Feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Gather the people together, men & women & little ones, & the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear & that they may learn to fear the LORD your God & carefully observe all the words of this law, & that their children, who have not known it, may hear & learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live in the land which you cross the Jordan to possess.””
Jer. 36:1-4, 6-8, 17-18—“Now it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, that this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying: “Take a scroll of a book & write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel, against Judah, & against all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah even to this day[22+/- yrs.]. It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the adversities which I purpose to bring upon them, that everyone may turn from his evil way, that I may forgive their iniquity & their sin.” Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah; & Baruch wrote on a scroll of a book, at the instruction of Jeremiah, all the words of the LORD which He had spoken to him.”.....““You[Baruch] go, therefore, & read from the scroll which you have written at my instruction, the words of the LORD, in the hearing of the people in the LORD’S house on the day of fasting. And you shall also read them in the hearing of all Judah who come from their cities. It may be that they will present their supplication before the LORD, & everyone will turn from his evil way. For great is the anger & the fury that the LORD has pronounced against this people.” And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading from the book the words of the LORD in the LORD’S house.”.....“And they asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us now, how did you write all these words--at his instruction?” So Baruch answered them, “He proclaimed with his mouth all these words to me, & I wrote them with ink in the book.””
King Jehoiakim(of Judah) hears of it, cuts it up & burns it completely destroying it.
Jer. 36:27-28, 32—“Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words which Baruch had written at the instruction of Jeremiah, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying: “Take yet another scroll, & write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned.”.....“Then Jeremiah took another scroll & gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it at the instruction of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And besides, there were added to them many similar words.”
Mat. 21:33-44—““Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard & set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it & built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers & went into a far country. “Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, & stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first, & they did likewise to them. Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ “But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him & seize his inheritance.’ “So they took him & cast him out of the vineyard & killed him. Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?” They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, & lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.[Ps. 118:22-23] This was the LORD’S doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’? “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you & given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.””
Mat. 22:23-33—“The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him & asked Him, saying: “Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife & raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, & having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. Likewise the second also, & the third, even to the seventh. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.” Jesus answered & said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven. But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, & the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.”
1Pet. 1:3-12—“Blessed be the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible & undefiled & that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, & glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible & full of glory, receiving the end of your faith--the salvation of your souls. Of this salvation the prophets have inquired & searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ & the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven--things which angels desire to look into.”
2Tim. 3:16-4:5—“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, & is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. I charge you[Timothy] therefore before God & the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living & the dead at His appearing & His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season & out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering & teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; & they will turn their ears away from the truth, & be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
Ps. 119:105—“NUN. Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”
Ps. 119:11—“Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You!”
Illustration:
A football playbook/Specific plays are designed to involve specific people with specific strengths(giftedness) @ specific times to attain a specific end/Franklin Seahawks opening JV football game of 9/05/2013/One play in particular—the quarterback takes the ball turns around to toss it to the fullback, but as he does, the half-back is right in his face attempting to receive a hand-off!/The ball was dropped ruining the play/The players must know the Playbook!/The SCRIPTURE
The Deacon that works at McGuire Nuclear Plant in Mooresville, NC/They abide by An Instruction Manual(if you will), very involved in proper proceedings, is to be followed specifically—one step missing or misapplied destroys the whole process—making life dangerous for himself & others/The manual therefore holds authority/The SCRIPTURE
Application:
?For you, Is worldly wisdom Limited by The SCRIPTURE?
?Your Wisdom Limited...Is your Wisdom worldly?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
My work at Skidaway Institute of Oceanography—Unfulfilled & empty. No fulfillment beyond the moment.
Action:
Worldly wisdom is limited by...
2. The SCRIPTURE(:19)
1. The CROSS(:18)
Presented 09/08/2013am to:
FBC’belle
206 Storrs Ave. SE
Carrabelle, FL 32322
